


Hide It Under Your Pillow

by JainaDurron7



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:15:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26513539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JainaDurron7/pseuds/JainaDurron7
Summary: When it comes time for cabin inspections at Camp Half-Blood, under your pillow is always a quality choice to hide things you may not want the inspectors to see.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 7
Kudos: 167





	Hide It Under Your Pillow

The end of another summer was nearing, and Annabeth couldn’t help but mourn the imminent end to Camp Half-Blood’s summer season. She and Percy were in college now, both attending New Rome University in San Francisco within the borders of Camp Jupiter. The fall semester of their sophomore year would be starting soon, and they would have to leave Camp Half-Blood again until next summer. She loved coming back for the summer, loved that she always had this home to return to. She really liked New Rome and Camp Jupiter, but she was a Greek demigod, and her blood would always scream to return to her roots.

Soon, she promised herself. It wouldn’t be long. But Percy would be going to New Rome with her, and that made it a lot more bearable.

She and Percy weren’t the only ones leaving camp for college this year, and Annabeth took some comfort in that. Maybe, she wasn’t the only one struggling.

Along with Piper, Annabeth was performing cabin inspections, a clipboard in hand as they made their rounds through all twenty cabins. They were currently going through Cabin Nine while the Hephaestus kids were practicing their archery. To neither’s surprise, the cabin was a mess, littered in tools and blueprints, every surface smudged in grease and oil. Annabeth had given up on lecturing Leo about maintaining his cabin long ago.

“So,” she started while making red marks on her clipboard. “UCLA, huh? Are you excited?”

Piper beamed, though something in her eyes seemed to agree with Annabeth about leaving camp. “I’m excited to go back to California. It’ll be nice to be close to my dad again. And do something completely normal for once.”

Annabeth laughed. “Don’t get too excited. I’m sure the monsters will be thrilled to join your classes.”

Piper rolled yer eyes. “I’m choosing to forget about that for now. I’ll deal with them when I see them. Until then, I’m just a normal teen starting her first year in college. And I can’t wait.”

“You’ll do great in college. You’ll make a lot of friends.”

_ That  _ put a greater damper on Piper’s enthusiasm, and she frowned at Annabeth. “Gods, I’ll miss you so much, Annabeth! I’m stuck in a double room with a roommate, but I promise I’ll sneak off at least one night a week to Iris message you!”

She laughed. “I’m holding you to it! I will never forgive you if you don’t!”

“At least you’ll have Percy with you. I have mortal friends, of course, but they don’t know me like my camp friends. They  _ can’t _ . And I hate feeling so alone when I’m not at camp.”

“I know. But you’ll make it. Maybe, you’ll find a classmate who has clear sight.”

“I don’t know if that would actually relieve me or just stress me more. Like we could be so lucky as to meet another clearsighted mortal who takes things as chill as Rachel does.”

“Yeah, Rachel is definitely one-of-a-kind.”

Annabeth was finished with her personal inspection, going over her sheet and deciding how generous or strict she was going to be on the Hephaestus kids this time when Piper gently elbowed her and started for Cabin Ten.

“Speaking of Percy,” Piper began once they were inside her cabin. All her siblings were currently on the lake, playing a new game Percy had come up with for training. She wagged her brows behind her choppy bangs, offering a generous grin. “How are you two?”

“What?” Annabeth laughed, brows knitting together. “You think we wouldn’t be on good terms?”

“Well, of course not! I guess that’s why I’m asking. Have you two … I don’t know. Made any bigger steps?”

“And what exactly would you mean by that?”

“Oh, come on, daughter of Athena! I think you can figure it out. Have you two …” She raised her brows again. “You know.”

Try as she might, Annabeth was fairly certain Piper caught the blush rushing to her cheeks as she spun around to survey the floor of the Aphrodite cabin. Besides, Piper didn’t need to see her blush to read her. “That is none of your business!” she objected instead, still smirking and laughing.

“Uh, excuse me, but as one o your best friends  _ and _ a daughter of Aphrodite, it absolutely is. Does Sally know? You know she’s going to want grandkids, right?”

“I would like to graduate first before we even think about kids. And get married.”

“So, you  _ do  _ want to get married!” Piper’s face lit up like the Rockefeller Center’s annual Christmas tree, and it only made Annabeth blush more fiercely.

“Look, you know I’m just teasing you. But I have been genuinely wondering if you guys have been thinking about making things official like that.”

Annabeth tried to ignore Piper for just long enough to finish her inspection. The Aphrodite cabin was typically among the cleanest of the cabins, but it was just as likely that their vanities would be littered with makeup and brushes or the girls’ bunks covered in whatever ten outfits they’d been torn between in that morning. She marked off a point for the underthings Drew Tanaka had not so neatly hid between her mattress and bed frame, then finalized her score and tucked the sheet away.

“Percy should be at the stables by now with the Hermes kids. We’d better do his cabin before he gets back.”

Piper nodded her agreement, and they headed across the cabins to Cabin Three. “You never answered me,” she spoke up halfway there. “Have you guys been talking about putting a ring on it?”

“Not really,” Annabeth shrugged, some of her disappointment slipping through her voice, so she quickly added, “But that doesn’t bother me! I mean, I think we both know that’s where we’re headed. We … we have something permanent. So, it doesn’t really matter when we decide to make it official. We just know … we’re in it for the long run.”

Annabeth was relieved when Piper seemed to decide that was enough. Though, she wasn’t so naive as to believe it was the last time Piper would be pressing her for details. It did make her think, but Annabeth was content where she and Percy were at. Of course, she wouldn’t  _ mind _ if Percy ever brought up marriage or someday starting a family, or, really, any kind of conversation about their future. But she  _ knew _ — not like an inkling, but somehow just knew— that she and Percy were permanent.

Maybe, if only because she didn’t want to imagine her future any other way.

“Alright,” Piper stopped just outside the door to Cabin Three. “How bad is his cabin going to be?”

Annabeth smirked. “He could give the Hephaestus kids a run for their money. But he’s usually good about cleaning up before inspections.” She shouldered the door open. “Plus, he knows I’m doing inspections today, and I’m not going to be lenient just for him.”

Sure enough, Percy’s cabin was mostly pretty tighty. Tyson was much better at cleaning, but Percy, like most other demigods, did have ADHD and he could only spend so much time and attention on cleaning up his room. The floor was clear, no abandoned weapons or shields lying around. His textbooks were stacked neatly on a desk across the space from his bed. His bed was actually made, impressively enough, his pillows propped up and blankets tucked in.

Okay, Annabeth knew he tried. But this was too good. She told Piper as much.

“You just said that Percy does clean his room for inspections.”

“Well, yeah, but it’s also  _ Percy.” _

Piper chuckled shortly. “So, now, we’re deliberately looking for things to mark off points and sabotage your boyfriend’s inspection grading?”

“No!” Annabeth set aside her clipboard to kneel on the floor and search under his bed for a pile of dirsty clothes. “I’m just … Okay, a little.” She stood back up, gaze darting to the nightstand by his bed. Perfectly organized. “But I’m telling you, this is too good! He usually has extra blades on the floor, or books and clothes under his blankets.” She raised a finger triumphantly. “His bed! He probably has clothes under his pillow. Knowing Percy, he definitely cleaned his room in a rush last minute. He probably finished right before he left for the stables and had only cleaned half his room.”

Piper just stood back, arms crossed, amused.

“He probably has his pajamas hidden under his pillow.” Annabeth snagged his pillow and dramatically threw it aside, but there were no dirty clothes there.

Only a small, black, velvet box resting against the sheets.

Annabeth slapped a hand to her mouth, too shocked to have a single clear thought.

“Annabeth? What is it?”

When she didn’t answer, Piper leaned in until she saw the small box. “Oh, my gods.”

Annabeth’s gaze shot to her friend, something beyond shock crossed with surprise and alarm frozen there. She didn’t say anything.

“Well? Is there a ring in it?”

Still hardly able to form a lucid thought, Annabeth reached out with tremoring fingers to grab the box. It was soft in her hands, surprisingly heavy without having any real weight to it. The lid popped open to reveal a dazzling clear diamond surrounded by tiny aquamarine stones. She quickly shut it. When she looked back to her friend, Piper’s face was bright and blushing in her own thrill. She seized Annabeth’s hands, squeezing them in her own, whispering rather loudly, “He’s going to propose!”

Putting it into words, hearing her friend say it for her, give voice to the obvious for her, finally broke Annabeth out of her daze.

They screamed.

They jumped and danced around like idiots in the middle of the Poseidon cabin, the ring lying abandoned in the middle of Percy’s bed. They screamed because Annabeth, daughter of Athena, had no words to express the elation she felt.

“Annabeth!”

She jumped at the sound of Percy’s voice, and she rushed to place the little box back and throw Percy’s pillow over it before he burst in. He’d clearly raced her, expression alert as his gaze darted between Piper and his girlfriend. “Is everything okay?”

Annabeth and Piper traded a look, Piper fighting for all her worth to suppress a grin. “I saw a spider!” Annabeth quickly blurted, shoving Piper between her and Percy’s bed.

Percy didn’t relax, but gaped. “Are you kidding?” He marched to his bedside, grabbed his water bottle from his nightstand, and got on all fours on the floor. “My dad promised me his blessing would extend five feet around the cabin. As soon as I find this damn spider, I’m going to Olympus to talk to him.”

The women exchanged another look, both now splitting into wide smiles. Annabeth bit down on her lip until she got control of herself, and she tapped her boyfriend on the shoulder. “Piper and I better finish inspections.”

“Of course,” Percy agreed. “Yeah. I’ll take care of this.”

“Um, Percy?”

The softness of her voice caught Percy’s attention and he turned to look at her.

She leaned to reach him better. “I love you, Seaweed Brain.”

He smiled softly, happily. “I love you too, Wise Girl.” He reached out to kiss her, and Annabeth happily obliged, refraining from asking for more. She quickly turned, letting Piper take her arm, and hurried on their way.


End file.
